Auckland, New Zealand (dpa) – Internet millionaire Kim Dotcom was denied access in a court ruling Friday to evidence against him held by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has applied to have him extradited from New Zealand on charges of internet piracy.
The Auckland High Court said the United States had to give some justification of its request to the extradition court, but that did not extend to providing the defence with all its evidence.
”If suspects were entitled to extensive disclosure of documents on the basis that they wished to challenge the evidence at the extradition hearing, the procedure would lose much if not most of its efficacy,” the court said in a 49-page statement to the media.
The decision overturned a ruling by an Auckland District Court in May that the FBI should release the evidence to Dotcom’s lawyers, who said they needed the access to prepare their client’s defence.
The evidence requested included millions of emails, the court heard. The summary of evidence provided by the US in the document called the record of the case was sufficient, it said.
Extradition courts can ”expect that a requesting state will have met its obligations of candour and good faith when compiling the record of the case,” the court said.
The defence needs to have ”cogent evidence” that the extradition process is being abused to be granted full access to materials against it, it said.
Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz in Kiel, Germany, is wanted in the United States on charges of copyright violations, racketeering and money laundering in connection with file-sharing website Megaupload, which he founded and co-owned.
He is on bail in Auckland, along with three colleagues, all awaiting the final court ruling on the FBI’s extradition bid.
”We are obviously disappointed and are considering an appeal” to the Supreme Court, Dotcom’s lawyer Greg Towers was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.
